Change of hours.

[Wiltshireboy]

Just been called into a meeting,(on my week off by the way!),at 0630 this morning.
They want to turn our working hours to 0730-1530 Mon-Fri, (inc meal break), and 0630 1330 Sat, doing away with longs and shorts.
Also, no "pressure" overtime starting next week.
Basically, we all think this sucks big time. Union rep said it is going to local disagreement. Watch this space!
This is all down to "Business reasons".
Our current hours are; Mon+Tues 0700-1430, Wed-Fri 0630-1450, Sat 0530-1230. This is much easier for getting the kids from school, by the way.
Anyone else`s hours getting changed or is it just our region?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Sounds like a savings issue to me - which the CWU have decided we cannot discuss locally until TM engage the Union on a national basis.

[Wiltshireboy]

Savings was mentioned. Though no explanation of how starting later makes savings, was given! What a surprise!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Savings was mentioned. Though no explanation of how starting later makes savings, was given! What a surprise!

Loss of the 2007 shift allowance for full timers for a start £12.50 per week (now on pay chits as 2007 Pay Protection)

[saintsnut]

Savings was mentioned. Though no explanation of how starting later makes savings, was given! What a surprise!

Loss of the 2007 shift allowance for full timers for a start £12.50 per week (now on pay chits as 2007 Pay Protection)

I was under the impression that later starts would "capture more mail" and if they enforce a change that you would keep the shift allowance for a minimum of 3 years/grandfather rights?

[k979aaa]

Savings was mentioned. Though no explanation of how starting later makes savings, was given! What a surprise!

Loss of the 2007 shift allowance for full timers for a start £12.50 per week (now on pay chits as 2007 Pay Protection)

I was under the impression that later starts would "capture more mail" and if they enforce a change that you would keep the shift allowance for a minimum of 3 years/grandfather rights?

Why don't we deliver the mail next week for we will get all or most of the mail and change is a funny thing you can bet it will not be for the benefit of the postman/women and the public!. Only for the rich and greedy :cfo & :lfo and power hungry :mfo !.

[not me]

no pressure overtime? so they accept you will cut as required?

[Wiltshireboy]

They accept it at the moment...wait till a week of cutoffs happen, see how "accepting" they are then.

[darth]

They accept it at the moment...wait till a week of cutoffs happen, see how "accepting" they are then.

especially with easter and end of financial year coming up.

[Wiltshireboy]

They accept it at the moment...wait till a week of cutoffs happen, see how "accepting" they are then.

especially with easter and end of financial year coming up.

Yes Indeedy!!

[clagnet]

I'd love your times tbh but i can understand them not being for everyone.
They mess about with times quite often at our office.

[london sub]

If they impose the changes let them get on with it...but the union will step in to issue a ballot for a strike for your office because RM are desperate for these savings, and are not wanting to discuss these savings locally. The union made a big mistake in my books by talking about local savings in each office...so when it comes to your next pay deal which i think will be very soon, the union want it to be a national agreement with new working rules i.e longer deliverys tied in with your pay.

Want i don't understand is dom's are saying that it will not only save money within your office (which is fair enough) but it will be better quailty of service for the customer by starting later. How do you work out that finishing later will be better for the customer when especially delivering to a business that finishes at 4 you arrive at say 1500 with a special and the receptionist has only an hour to look through the mail. RM are not thinking about the customer its all about PROFIT!

[Martin Walsh]

cow post the reason the cwu have got a policy of no co -orperation to savings is that we want to safeguard full time jobs in the future along with safeguarding mail centres and distrubuion jobs.

Every office in the country will have a saving target and management have to adhere to the 3 stage IR framework before they consider executive action. Its at that point when we know of Royal Mail`s intent that we have a trade dispute and can legally ballot the office based on the unit and Branch`s request. The reason why we have not balloted as yet nationally is that no all areas have recieved the proposals as yet and in widespread parts of the country have no proposals as yet.

In my division we have our first stage 3s next week and our divsional policy is that should management implement these savings by executive action then we will ballot the whole of the division for strike action all 14000 members. So its a big call for management next week as well. They know that we have delivered on strike action ballots time and time again before.

The other thing where I think members need to understand is this issue is massive. Royal Mail`s plans for the future is to cut thousands of jobs , increase part time jobs at the expense of full time employment and close delivery offices and mail centres alike.

If you want to understand their plans read the post under the heading of should there be a national strike ballot.

It really is time people understood what Royal Mail intend to do with regards to the bussiness and how we have to defeat their plans by not only making sure our proposals are ensuring full time employment but we highlight how their plans will result in a worse service for the customers.

[POSTMAN]

If you want to understand their plans read the post under the heading of should there be a national strike ballot.

Whilst I understand peoples concerns about strike action the fact is it works and is far more effective and easier to control then working to rule , working properly or overtime bans.

Whilst we are not at the point where we can ballot nationally over Royal Mail`s jobs cuts and modernisation plans I dont believe we are far off.

Look you will play into Royal Mail`s hands if you choose not to ballot for Industrial action. Doing your job properly is very easy to break. What if Royal Mail decide to take you off pay becuase they calculate you should have done more work. This is what happened in Streatham and watford during the last dispute. Whilst the streatham members got their money back at an industrial tribunal it was almost 12 months after and there was no judgement as the chair of the tribunal recommended Royal Mail did a settlement so there is no case law.

It happened in streatham`s case a number of times whereby an idivudal bought work back after their shift only for management to say they should have worked harder based on the indoor workload tool and then took their whole days pay off them. After a few ocassions they had enough and walked out and led to the unofficial dispute in London during the late stages of the national dispute in 2007.

So what happens if they choose to do it in offices to discourage staff from contiuing then we are going to end up with widespread unofficial action. I have been involved in plenty of unofficial action in the past and whilst it can be effective no one neither the union or Royal Mail control widespread unoffical action.

In any case we not only fighting Royal Mails current savings but there future plans for delivery staff which is to adopt the dutch delivery model which has 84 % part time staff and where part time contracts are limited to 16 hours maximum.

Contrary to popular belief their model is not based on a longer span. In fact it is far worse then that. You see under walk sequencing they wish to automate all machineable mail however there lies the problem. 60% of the mail mainly second class , DSA and mail sort will be walk sequenced from mid night howver the 40% of mail which is first and distant mail is not cleared until 0440 in the mail centre. So by the time this mail is walk sequenced it will not arrive in delivery offices until between 10 30 and 11 oclock. Off course no one can go out until this 40% connects and becuase most of the work will be sequence not all staff will need to commence at 0600 as only packets and flats will need to be merge into the work.

Furthermore Royal Mail and in particular mark Higson wants to ruthlessly enfore a two oclock last letter. So if the work arrives at 11 and you cannot go past 2 then your walk will be appox 2 .5 hours with travelling time. Hence a part time job.

For mail centres they will face closures and Royal Mail are bringing in crash sorting where mail centres no longer break down the outward work in the same way but send it onto the recieving mail centes so staff can concentrate on the inward. The inward will then be automated where possible and will mean less mail centre jobs. The other thing is in Holland mail centres have only 2 shifts 1800 to midnight and midnight to 0600.

In network there will be less runs as the mail centres introduce crash sorting. The other thing is there will be less collections.

So this is the industrial fight and this is why the cwu have a policy not to give up any savings and this is why we will have to be balloted.

We have no choice we either fight Royal Mail`s plans or we let them turn our job into a part time job . Remember we have the worst employment laws of any european country and legaly an employer only has to give 90 days notice of reducing full time hours.

We will not change Royal Mails plans by overtime bans or working properly it will only be changed by refusing to give up savings and striking.